Mackenzie Baker

Name: Mackenzie Ariel Baker

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Grade: 12th

School: George Hunter High School

Hobbies and Interests: Fashion, drama club, singing, track and field (specializes in jumping events)

Appearance: Mackenzie stands at 5'3" and weighs 140 lbs. She is trim and fit from her track and field exercises, with visible muscle tone in her legs and a slim waist. She is Caucasian with a light tan, brown eyes, and shoulder-length wavy blonde hair which she brushes back away from her face. She has a medium-sized nose and a rounded face that dimples when she smiles. She likes to wear pink lip gloss and dark brown eyeshadow, along with a light purple straw hat which she has had since she was 14. No matter what she is wearing, she is never seen without this hat on, which is why it comes with a chinstrap for use on windy days.

Mackenzie's clothing choices are an eclectic blend of colors and styles, very rarely matching. She will wear tank tops, baggy t-shirts, jeans, short skirts, whatever she feels like wearing on any given day. Many of her clothes are in shocking bright colors of neon pink, bright green, purple, yellow, and so forth, which combine with her choice of headgear to create a mismatching aesthetic that is torturous to the eyes. On the day of the school trip, she wore a yellowish-green sleeveless shirt, a navy blue skirt, and dark red open-toe sandals with pink painted toenails.

Biography: Mackenzie was born to Arthur and Marie Baker, an old-money family of privilege living in the gated community of Chattanooga. Arthur's grandfather, an immigrant to the US from Great Britain, had amassed a fortune in stock trading, which Arthur eventually inherited along with a hefty stock portfolio generating annual dividends. Arthur never lacked for anything in his life and as a result, he is accustomed to getting whatever he wants and not having to deal with anything that is an inconvenience to him. Marie came from a well-off middle class family and had a career managing a local grocery store chain before she and Arthur married. As of now, they are simply living off the regular stock payouts from Arthur's portfolio and have not held down a job since the two of them were married. However, they did not marry for money but because of a mutual infatuation and as a result, they have been married for almost twenty years with only the occasional fight.

The two of them did not wish to have children at first. In fact, it was only a year into their marriage that it even came up, and it was only on a whim that they tried. However, a few weeks after Mackenzie was born, they realized that they could not handle the stress of raising a child, so they hired an in-home caretaker named Gloria Roberts to attend to her instead. Gloria, an African-American woman in her 50's who had raised two children of her own, took on the task dutifully and carefully, watching over Mackenzie while her parents were entertaining guests or going out on adventures and attending dinner parties with friends. As far as Arthur and Marie were concerned, Mackenzie was to be seen and not heard, and there were occasions when she was 3 and 4 where she tried to reach out to her parents, only to be rebuffed by them and told to go away. Gloria was paid well, so she did not comment on their behavior. Instead, as Mackenzie began having periodic nightmares, screaming and crying at night, she would sit beside her bed, singing to her and holding her, trying to let her know that she wasn't alone in the world.

In a few months, Gloria would become a surrogate parent to Mackenzie, hearing her worries and comforting her when she became moody and dejected. They would go out on outings together to parks and movies, and Gloria would be the one who taught her how to ride a bicycle. As Mackenzie grew to be elementary school age, Gloria also began to give a helping hand in her schooling, dropping her off at the bus stop and putting her meals together. Mackenzie still desperately wanted her parents to acknowledge her, even if they had only a passing interest in her. No matter what, she still loved them and wanted to be recognized, showing off the artworks she'd drawn and excitedly talking about the things she'd learned. They fell on deaf ears though, as Arthur and Marie were often too busy with their own plans and activities. She began acting out, taking tantrums, stopping her feet and knocking objects over to get their attention, but that only got Gloria in trouble, since in her parents' eyes, she was supposed to be handling this kind of thing.

In order to combat her loneliness and depression, Mackenzie began reaching out to the other kids in her neighborhood, becoming childhood friends with some of the other future George Hunter students like Connor Lorenzen and Rhonda Lawson. Though shy at first, she began opening up to them and realizing, to her immense joy, that she had somebody her own age she could relate to. Having friends filled her need for social interaction, and she began making it her mission to acquire as many as possible, talking to random people at school and getting to know everyone she could.

Mackenzie also found comfort in her activities at school. She loved being the center and attention and having the spotlight on her, so she started acting in school plays, taking on dramatic and romantic roles. Though she was initially shy and had troubles speaking up due to her experiences at home, she had an understanding drama teacher who encouraged her to be as dramatic as she wanted, and as she went through her elementary schooling, she began to find her voice, developing an outspoken and confident outward persona that she showed to the rest of the world. Acting, she discovered, allowed her to be anyone she wanted, anywhere in the world she ever desired, and her active imagination allowed her to take on a multitude of roles. She had difficulties sharing the spotlight though, which ended up causing friction with her fellow drama students, a problem that has persisted even to the modern day.

When it came to self-expression, she also found outlets in singing and dancing. The singing started when she was only five and she began to imitate the songs in Disney films and other animated movies. Though untrained and off-pitch, she was fond of the sound of her own voice and she begged her parents for formal lessons, which they begrudgingly agreed to pay for. And so, every Saturday afternoon, she'd be tutored at home by a voice instructor who trained her to use her full range. Mackenzie found that she was closest to a soprano, able to hit high notes with perfect pitch while faltering on the lower end. She is not a naturally talented singer, but with practice and intensive training, she has developed a passable melodic singing voice.

Dancing was something she had a bit more natural skill in. Participating in evening dance classes, she learned many of the classical dance styles such the waltz, the tango, swing, cha cha cha, and so forth. She's also picked up a number of more modern dances through attending parties with friends, and she is not shy about breaking into dance whenever she is at one of those gatherings. Learning most of those dances all at once means that she only knows the rudimentary steps and forms. She is not masterful in any of them, preferring to do whatever strikes her fancy at a given time, but she has shown herself to be a quick learner in the various styles.

Middle school was a turning point for Mackenzie, since her parents began to give her a regular and rather sizable allowance. Fascinated by fashion shows and the crazy designs they showed there, she quickly developed an interest in dressing up and trying out new outrageous styles of her own. She figured that, just like the teenage girls in the shows she liked, she needed the right styles to truly stand out from her peers, and so she began to blend incongruous clothing items together, the brighter and flashier the better. Gloria, finding this very amusing, went out and bought her a wide-brimmed purple straw hat. Considering that she had never received a gift from her parents other than money, the hat had a giant impact on her and became a permanent fixture of Mackenzie's wardrobe, no matter what outfit she wore with it, which only served to make her stand out even more.

Life in high school has not been entirely pleasant for Mackenzie, though she has become even more active. She has faced a lot of ridicule and eye-rolling due to her forward and loud personality and many students have just tuned her out entirely, causing her to feel depressed and ostracized on occasion. This has caused her to only double down on her attention-grabbing antics. She has joined the drama club at school and become a bit of a prima donna there, just as she was in her younger years. Despite this, she still has a cadre of friends who she can confide in and hang out with. She is especially fond of partying and socializing and is as outgoing as her parents. She has continued her dance lessons and considers herself to be quite talented at the tango, her favorite dance. She is also fond of her coursework in school, ever eager to stand out in class and show off what she knows. While not particularly amazing, only earning B's in her best courses like social studies and C's in history and science courses, this is due to her difficulties in memorizing information rather than a lack of trying. Gloria assisted her to the best of her ability from elementary to the modern day, and as long as she isn't failing, her parents didn't particularly care.

One area where she's shown excellence in, however, is student athletics, particularly track and field. She first got into it purely on a whim, seeing the rest of the track team practicing and asking if she could join in. They tentatively agreed, and she realized that she was a skilled jumper. In particular, her best events are the long jump and the pole vault, and so she's specialized in those events, taking silver and sometimes gold at student competitions. Running and practicing with the rest of the team, along with proper dieting, has also made her light on her feet, quick, and well-fit. Fitting this in along with her theater, dancing and socialization has been exhausting for her, but it's given her a sense of belonging and a feeling like she can accomplish something meaningful.

However, even while she has made a life for herself at school, Mackenzie still finds herself experiencing bouts of loneliness and self-loathing. She puts on a cheerful, energetic mask for the people at school, but privately, she has displayed frustration, anxiety, and depression about the mistakes she makes and how she alienates the people she knows with her antics and her tendency to speak without thinking. Despite everything she's learned and all the skills she's gained, she still has a low opinion of herself, and her room at home, while full of expensive furniture, has very few sentimental items in it, just some medals hanging on the wall. These days, she barely uses the house except to sleep in, preferring to spend her days out on the town or just sitting on a bench at the local park, singing to herself as the animals go by. Though she gets as much love and attention as she can from her friends and clubmates, her lack of acknowledgement and encouragement from her parents still weighs heavily on her. In particular, she is experiencing a mounting sense of dread at the approach of graduation because not only will she be separated from her friends, but her parents have let her know that Gloria will be let go too since she won't need a caretaker once she goes to college.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Mackenzie has made plans to become an actress, saving up a sizable college fund from her allowance and applying to multiple acting schools. Her goal is to achieve her own fame and fortune, to make her own name independently of her parents. Gloria has been supportive of this plan, offering whatever advice she can before she is dismissed from her post. While afraid of having to make new friends all over again, Mackenzie believes that this is the best choice for her, since she has nothing but sour feelings for the life she is currently leading.

Advantages: Mackenzie is nimble, light on her feet, and has excellent balance. In addition, she has friendships with the wealthier students, track athletes, and drama club members of GHHS that she can use for alliances.

Disadvantages: Mackenzie is loud, desperate for attention and tries too hard to stand out, making her an easy target and also prone to depression when she can't get her way. She always has to be in the spotlight, which could grate on people she tries to ally with.

Designated Number: Female student No. 045

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Designated Weapon: Fencing saber (sharpened)

Conclusion: Here's an idea G045, grab the spotlight by putting that sword through someone's face. That'll get you noticed. - Josie Knight

'The above biography is as written by Blastinus. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: Blastinus

Kills: None

Killed By: Justin Greene

Collected Weapons: Fencing saber (sharpened) (assigned weapon, to Justin Greene)

Allies: Billy Trevino, Joanne Coleman

Enemies: 

Mid-game Evaluation: 

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below are a list of threads containing Mackenzie, in chronological order:

V7 Pregame: V7:
 * Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown
 * The Good Times Are Killing Me (#SwiftBall)
 * Dragon's Lair (#SwiftBall)
 * Early Bird
 * Time to Play the Game
 * Don't Stray Off the Path
 * Even Jesus got his crown in front of a crowd

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Mackenzie Baker. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Of Blast's original V7 characters, I think Mackenzie was the one who took the most time to click into gear. There are a handful of possible reasons for this, but I feel like much of it is that, in Pregame, her concept had a little less immediate nuance and baked-in conflict than Reuben or Jeff. Mackenzie is loud and desperate for attention, but the reasons behind this don't really come into play most of the time and she often comes off as awkward in a way that's not always natural or smooth in its representation. Some of this, I think, is probably growing pains; she has a mere three Pregame threads, and the latter two are deep in the depths of SwiftBall, where she has to compete with characters who are by now very well fleshed out and firing on all cylinders in busy scenes with a lot of action. This leaves her somewhat buried.

Fortunately, when she enters the game proper, things pick up. Her first thread, featuring Kyle Harrison and Billy Trevino, was one of my V7 early game highlights, though it's faded some from the public consciousness by now. It sees three characters with the best interests of their peers at heart establishing an alliance aimed at helping and doing good, something that never gets as much play as it deserves in the game. Each of the three has a distinct voice, the setup is great, there's some palpable frustration and bemusement over Kyle's potato cannon, etc. It's a wonderful establishing thread, and if it had predicted the path of those in it more, I think they would've been an iconic group.

However, much of this momentum is deflated by an unfortunate misadventure into a way-too-crowded thread with a bunch of other stuff going on. Mackenzie barges into a fight that's the aftermath of someone else attempting to stop a mugging, almost gets shot by mistake, and splits again, all without any of her allies in tow (courtesy of the old "she ran ahead a bit and lost them"). I actually don't hate the intrusion itself, but because she doesn't stick around she doesn't get anything from it but a quick reality check that could've come from anything. The cost, meanwhile, is a fundamentally irreparable fracture in the group. Sure, they reconnect, talk stuff out, and seem like they're going to stick it out, but the magic has vanished and the chemistry has suffered, with everyone on a different page now and having to catch up with happenings and so on. Furthermore, the reunion thread is slow-paced and kind of meandering, seeing multiple sets of characters wander through with their own goals and destinations (and a sequence where Kyle and Violet Schmidt just split off into their own post order for a while) and all of a sudden it's back to the perils of Pregame, with Mackenzie getting lost in the noise of other characters with clearer goals and more immediate voices.

It's a good thing, then, that Mackenzie's final thread is excellent. Meka is just the right sort of character for her to play off of, another do-gooder with a strong if less-than-perfectly-aimed drive, and they quickly establish a believable rapport. This also follows with Justin, who has good chemistry with Mackenzie and sells the fostering and betrayal of her trust hard. Mackenzie's death is an awesome, game-defining beat for all three characters involved; I'd say it's probably my favorite of Justin's kills, it shoves Meka's face directly into the reality of the situation, and it shows Mackenzie out on an unusual, terrifying, and well-played note. She's not a long character, and there are absolutely some falters along the way. I favor her handler's other original kids. But when Mackenzie is switched on, she is on, and I think those moments number among the high points of the first quarter of the game. - MurderWeasel